美国国家公共电台 NPR An Unlikely Pair Share A Moment That Goes Beyond Politics

 

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

It's Friday and time for StoryCorps. Today, the launch of a new project - it is called One Small Step. And it's an effort to bring together Americans with differing political views. After the 2016 election, Joseph Weidknecht went to a Trump¹ protest in Austin. He showed up with pro-Trump signs and a "Make America Great Again" hat. Amina Amdeen, a Muslim student at the University of Texas, was one of the anti-Trump marchers. They came to StoryCorps to remember the moment that brought them together.

AMINA AMDEEN: I noticed you with the hat. And I noticed that you were surrounded by some people. And I noticed that they were being kind of threatening.

JOSEPH WEIDKNECHT: I heard a click of a lighter² right behind my ear. And there were about three people trying to light my shirt on fire with lighters³.

AMDEEN: And then somebody snatched your hat off your head. And that's the point where I - something kind of snapped inside me...

WEIDKNECHT: (Laughter).

AMDEEN: ...Because I wear a Muslim hijab. And I've been in situations where people have tried to snatch it off my head.

WEIDKNECHT: Wow.

AMDEEN: And I rushed towards you. And I just started screaming, leave him alone. Give me that back.

WEIDKNECHT: I don't think we could be any further apart as people. And yet, it was just kind of like this common that's-not-OK moment. You are genuinely the only Muslim person I know.

AMDEEN: (Laughter).

WEIDKNECHT: I just - it's not that I've actively⁴ avoided. It's just...

AMDEEN: Yeah.

WEIDKNECHT: ...I've just never been in the position where I can interact for an extended period of time. So I guess my views on the Muslim community have been influenced by a lot of the news articles and things of that nature.

AMDEEN: I feel like a lot of times, in the media, you don't see the normal Muslim, the one that listens to classic rock like I do.

WEIDKNECHT: (Laughter).

AMDEEN: You don't meet that Muslim.

WEIDKNECHT: Can you tell me about where you grew up? What was that part of your life like?

AMDEEN: So I was born in Baghdad in Iraq. I moved to the U.S. when I was 10 years old.

WEIDKNECHT: OK.

AMDEEN: Being a Muslim girl, I stood out in almost every single way that you can in middle school, the worst time to stand out. What about you? How was it like when you grew up?

WEIDKNECHT: I was homeschooled, so it was a vastly different experience socially. It was - I didn't have, I guess, as many friends as most people would. I only went to a public school one year of my life. And I got in three fights, and I lost all of them.

AMDEEN: Aww.

WEIDKNECHT: (Laughter) I actually lost a lot of friends because of this election - because of my political stance. So I hope that I can be the reason that someone decides to talk to someone as opposed to just cutting them out of their life or blocking them on Twitter (laughter)...

AMDEEN: Yeah.

WEIDKNECHT: ...You know?

AMDEEN: I'd like for this to encourage other people to engage in more conversations...

WEIDKNECHT: Yeah.

AMDEEN: ...With people that you don't agree with.

WEIDKNECHT: What it's all about. I'm so glad I wasn't the only one who felt like that.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

MARTIN: That was Joseph Weidknecht and Amina Amdeen at StoryCorps in Austin, Texas.

To learn how to add your voice to the StoryCorps One Small Step project, go to npr.org.

1 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

2 lighter   

n.打火机，点火器；驳船；v.用驳船运送；light的比较级

参考例句：

• The portrait was touched up so as to make it lighter.这张画经过润色，色调明朗了一些。
• The lighter works off the car battery.引燃器利用汽车蓄电池打火。

3 lighters   

n.打火机，点火器( lighter的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The cargo is being discharged into lighters. 正在往驳船里卸货。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Babies'bootees and cheap cigarette lighters were displayed in unlikely juxtaposition. 儿童的短靴和廉价的打火机很不相称地陈列在一起。 来自辞典例句

4 actively   

adv.积极地，勤奋地

参考例句：

• During this period all the students were actively participating.在这节课中所有的学生都积极参加。
• We are actively intervening to settle a quarrel.我们正在积极调解争执。